Scalable low-cost processes for arsenic removal from holopelagic Sargassum spp: Performance of soaking and pressing treatments
Abstract
Massive stranding of holopelagic Sargassum spp. across the Caribbean have raised major environmental and socio-economic concerns, while also offering opportunities for biomass valorisation. However, the high content of inorganic arsenic (iAs), the most toxic arsenic fraction, remains a critical barrier to their use in agriculture or animal feed. This study investigates the feasibility of simple, low-cost treatments for reducing arsenic concentrations in Sargassum biomass, with a particular focus on iAs removal. Mechanical pressing (1.5-3.2 bar), with or without pre-soaking and mixing-rehydration steps, was evaluated alongside soaking treatments at different temperatures (20-60 • C). Pressing resulted in limited arsenic removal, whereas pre-soaking greatly enhanced efficiency. Soaking at 20 • C reduced total arsenic and iAs by 42% and 54%, respectively, with further improvements at higher temperatures, reaching up to 66% and 70% removal at 60 • C. Final iAs concentrations decreased to approximately 10 mg kg -1 . Importantly, no apparent loss of phenolic compounds was observed under these conditions. Although higher removal efficiencies have been reported using high-temperature treatments (e.g., 90 • C), such approaches involve greater energy costs and may compromise the preservation of valuable bioactive compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides one of the first systematic evaluations of treatment strategies specifically targeting iAs reduction in holopelagic Sargassum. These findings highlight the potential of simple soaking-based processes as scalable pre-treatment options, while emphasizing the need for additional processing steps to meet stricter regulatory thresholds for certain applications.
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BibTeX
@article{renoul2026scalable,
title = {{Scalable low-cost processes for arsenic removal from holopelagic Sargassum spp: Performance of soaking and pressing treatments}},
author = {Charlotte Renoul and Tristan Gobert and Virginie Boy and Solène Connan and Valérie Stiger-Pouvreau and Jean-Louis Lanoisellé and Matthieu Waeles},
journal = {Bioresource Technology Reports},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.biteb.2026.103032},
url = {https://univ-brest.hal.science/hal-05795646v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Scalable low-cost processes for arsenic removal from holopelagic Sargassum spp: Performance of soaking and pressing treatments
AU - Charlotte Renoul
AU - Tristan Gobert
AU - Virginie Boy
AU - Solène Connan
AU - Valérie Stiger-Pouvreau
AU - Jean-Louis Lanoisellé
AU - Matthieu Waeles
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Bioresource Technology Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.biteb.2026.103032
UR - https://univ-brest.hal.science/hal-05795646v1
AB - Massive stranding of holopelagic Sargassum spp. across the Caribbean have raised major environmental and socio-economic concerns, while also offering opportunities for biomass valorisation. However, the high content of inorganic arsenic (iAs), the most toxic arsenic fraction, remains a critical barrier to their use in agriculture or animal feed. This study investigates the feasibility of simple, low-cost treatments for reducing arsenic concentrations in Sargassum biomass, with a particular focus on iAs removal. Mechanical pressing (1.5-3.2 bar), with or without pre-soaking and mixing-rehydration steps, was evaluated alongside soaking treatments at different temperatures (20-60 • C). Pressing resulted in limited arsenic removal, whereas pre-soaking greatly enhanced efficiency. Soaking at 20 • C reduced total arsenic and iAs by 42% and 54%, respectively, with further improvements at higher temperatures, reaching up to 66% and 70% removal at 60 • C. Final iAs concentrations decreased to approximately 10 mg kg -1 . Importantly, no apparent loss of phenolic compounds was observed under these conditions. Although higher removal efficiencies have been reported using high-temperature treatments (e.g., 90 • C), such approaches involve greater energy costs and may compromise the preservation of valuable bioactive compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides one of the first systematic evaluations of treatment strategies specifically targeting iAs reduction in holopelagic Sargassum. These findings highlight the potential of simple soaking-based processes as scalable pre-treatment options, while emphasizing the need for additional processing steps to meet stricter regulatory thresholds for certain applications.
SN - 2589-014X
ER -